History of the Molotov Cocktail from Nazi Germany to Ferguson | New Republic By Josh Kovensky August 18, 2014 In their tear-gassed standoffs with police in Ferguson, Missouri, some protesters have retaliated with the weapon of urban revolutionaries and improvisational militaries alike: the Molotov cocktail. Easy and cheap to make, the Molotov cocktail is thought to have been invented during the Spanish Civil War, where it was used by the Republicans against Nationalist tanks. The original design was a mixture of tar, ethanol, and gasoline in a beer bottle, creating a substance that's both sticky and flammable; either an oil-soaked rag or a long, wind-proof match is inserted into the bottle’s mouth to act as a wick. When the "bottle bomb" hits its target, the sticky mixture of fuel and flame ignite, causing a large fireball and coating whatever it hits with fire. But why is the weapon named after Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister who signed the secret 1939 Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact that heralded World War Two? The answer comes from Finland.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact divvied Europe up into “spheres of influence,” carving Poland into Nazi and Soviet territory, while ceding Finland to the Soviets, who had previously controlled it under the Russian Empire. In the winter of 1939, after seizing eastern Poland and leaving the country’s west to the Third Reich, the Soviets invaded Finland. Molotov (“Hammer” in Russian) then said in a speech, “Tomorrow we will dine in Helsinki!” After Soviet bombs began to fall on Finnish troops, Molotov insisted that the Soviets were dropping food and drink instead. Exhibiting a keen wit, the Finns thus dubbed Soviet cluster bombs “Molotov bread baskets” (the food) and named the improvised weapons that they were using against Soviet armor “Molotov cocktails" (the drink). The Finnish Alko corporation , a liquor conglomerate, mass-produced 450,000 Molotov cocktails during the war. The weapon proved instrumental in halting the Soviet advance toward the Finnish capital. The use of Molotov cocktails spread during the war, among Allied and Axis forces alike.

In 1940, as Nazis threatened to invade the United Kingdom, the British armed home guard units with the weapon as a form of civil defense. So Molotov, the war-mongering Bolshevik, ended up lending his name to a bomb known for its popularity in anti-Communist protests behind the Iron Curtain . Fast forward to today in the United States. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms considers Molotov cocktails a “destructive device” under the National Firearms Act . This does not mean that the weapon is banned—only that you must register your Molotov cocktail with the ATF. Of course, you will be prosecuted for hurling one at a police car. Correction: A previous version of this article described the Molotov cocktail as a "centuries-old weapon." In fact, it is believed to have been invented during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. Read More Sign up for your daily dose of politics, culture, and big ideas.

Sign Up FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: INFANTRY AT-WEAPONS PART 1 Molotov Cocktail Using fire as a weapon is an ancient invention and this use had continued in more or less refined forms for ages. Filling bottles with easily flammable liquid and throwing enemy with them was not new in any way either. In fact such incendiary bottles had also been used as antitank weapon at least in Second Abyssinian War (1935 - 1936) and Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939). However, generally speaking earlier petrol bombs were very simple compared to refined Finnish factory-produced versions. When petrol bombs had been used in Abyssinia they had been simply filled with alcohol or petrol and had been used by first throwing the bottle and then throwing burning piece of fabric tied to stick after it. With this method it was necessary for both throws to hit the target to achieve the required result. Petrol bombs of Spanish Civil War were simpler to use then the ones earlier used in Abyssinia.

The bottles used there were still alcohol or petrol filled, but now a piece of fabric was usually tied to the bottle and was just set on fire before throwing. Thanks to this now the target needed to be to hit only once. The first unit to use petrol bombs as antitank weapons in Spanish Civil War was Spanish Foreign Legion fighting in Nationalist side in autumn of 1936. PICTURE: Finnish Molotov cocktail with storm matches. Time has made its thing and the mix is no longer well mixed up - when new, the colour of mix was black. If the mix in this particular bottle is the real thing the reason for the discoloration is tar getting settled on bottom of the bottle. Notice that the storm matches have been isolated from the glass bottle by putting pieces of tape between them - this was made because heat of the burning matches could otherwise crack the glass bottle prematurely. (Photo taken in Panssarimuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (82 KB). By late 1930's Finnish military had become aware that infantry needed some sort of antitank weaponry of its own.

Finnish military intended to acquire antitank rifles for this use, but as introducing them was delayed also other alternatives were considered. Some Finns had considered petrol-bombs already early on, like for example Sergeant Major Johan Valli from PPP 2 (Bicycle Battalion 2) - he tested petrol-bomb like weapon already in year 1932. But it was Captain (later: Major) Eero Kuittinen with his modest and unofficial development team, who can be really credited for development of Finnish molotov cocktail. Nobody had given Kuittinen or his team any orders for doing such development work and the whole thing seem to have started from their own idea. During spring of 1937 Kuittinen with help of his friend merchant Väinö Hannula and three 2nd Lieutenants started developing new version based to the petrol bombs reportedly used in Spanish Civil War. The first version they tested was simple bottle filled with petrol and piece of cotton waste tied into it, but this proved less than ideal. The main problems of this simple petrol bomb were: The liquid (just petrol) did not stick to target, but flowed away too easily.

Burning cotton waste made person throwing the bottle highly visible and therefore too very easy to spot. Adding pine tar to mix (about 10 - 20 cl for each half-liter bottle) proved good solution to first problem, since it not only made mix to stick target, but created mixture that created quite a bit of smoke. Additional bonuses of this mix were that the fire became more long lasting and burned with higher temperature. Two ignition methods for setting the liquid on fire were developed: "Storm match" solution: Match factory in town of Lahti manufactured 12-cm long sparklers called "storm matches" (also known as "Bengal matches" in some countries), once lit these burned about 60 seconds. Two "storm matches" were simply taped to opposite sides of bottle with insulating tape and once the matches were lit, soldier with the molotov cocktail had about 60 seconds to throw it. Also Engineer Salomaa from match factory participated in tests of this ignition system. Kuittinen and his development team seem to have succeeded completing developing the basic version of molotov cocktail equipped with "storm matches", by spring of 1939.

Later during Winter War this particular version became the most commonly used in molotov cocktail version in use of Finnish military - around 80% of molotov cocktails manufactured during Winter War used this ignition method. Use of this version probably ended by end of Winter War. Long fragile glass ampoule filled with self-igniting material (sulphuric acid or white phosphorus in carbon disulphide) installed inside the bottle. As the glass bottle broke also the fragile glass ampoule inside it broke down and its contents set the liquid on fire. This ignition method was designed by Finnish Defence Ministry Planning Office during Winter War. It is also possible that this ignition method may have been originally brain-child of A.I. Virtanen (famous Finnish chemist and recipient of Nobel price in year 1945), who got the idea from fuses used in old Russian naval mines. Molotov cocktail equipped with this ignition was commonly known as "A-pullo" ("A-bottle"). About 20% of molotov cocktails manufactured during Winter War already had this ignition method and it seems to have become the standard ignition method for Finnish molotov cocktails manufactured after Winter War.

Wartime reports suggest that A-bottles had some problems concerning difficulty for inserting the ampoule and for it to set the liquid on fire during cold weather, but apparently this was not an issue during mild weather. PICTURE: Another sample of Finnish Molotov cocktail with storm matches. Notice also the metal wire used to further secure the storm matches. Colour of liquid is off in this bottle either - either the original has been replaced or some chemical process had changed the colour from original black to something to this yellow with brownish layer in bottom of the bottle. (Photo taken in Sotamuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (43 KB). Also Riihimäki glass factory had its part in development team of Finnish molotov cocktail, as it delivered several bottle types for testing of molotov cocktails. Bottles made especially for the purpose were also tested. But in these tests the normal 500-ml (half-litre) glass bottle taken to production in 1934 for strong alcohol drinks proved to the most successful design for the purpose and became the standard bottle used in mass-production of molotov cocktails.

The bottle was glass bottle 26.5 centimeters high with diameter of 6.8 centimeters. The cork used early on was aluminium with seal capsule, later it was replaced with bakelite cork. When the bottles were mass-produced with semiautomatic and full-automatic machinery manufacturing them in large quantities was both cheap and easy. How did the first official version of molotov cocktail (the "storm match"-version) spread to knowledge of Finnish soldiers? It may have been included already to short manuals of Engineer Corps in January or February of 1939. What is known for a certain is that it was included to manual called "Pion. Tekn. ohjeita N:o 1" (Sapper Technical Instructions number 1) published in August of 1939. However it being mentioned in some manual does not equal for it being common knowledge. The grand majority of Finnish soldiers did not become familiar with this new weapon first known as "polttopullo" (literally translated: "burning bottle") until during Winter War. Before the war Finnish military had planned to manufacture molotov cocktails by hand in few small plants reserved for this.

Few weeks before breaking out of Winter War Finnish military started making preparations for molotov cocktail production by buying large amounts of glass bottles for this purpose. Finnish military had organised five bottling plants of its own for the work. These were presumably somewhat similar as one located in Sorvali near Viipuri. In Sorvali plant 40 women were manufacturing molotov cocktails to 2nd Army Corps under leadership of 2nd Lieutenant Kauko Lehtonen. But as the war started the shear volume of needed molotov cocktails proved overwhelming for these small plans to manufacture them. However, buying empty alcohol bottles in large-scale got Alko (Finnish alcohol monopoly, state owned company, which was the only company allowed to manufacture or sell hard liquor in Finland) interested. This interest lead to fruitful co-operation between Alko and Finnish Army as Alko's bottling plants had several production lines with highly effective bottle filling machinery. This machinery was able to fill tens of thousands of molotov cocktails per day.

Once Finnish military became aware of this possibility of using Alko's bottling plant for the molotov cocktail production, Finnish Defence Minister Juho Niukkanen effectively cut the red tape by directly ordering Alko to bottle 40,000 bottles with molotov cocktail mix immediately. Rajamäki plant of Alko hired 87 women plus 5 men and started making molotov cocktails 24-hours a day. This first order of 40,000 molotov cocktails was filled in only couple of days and the first deliveries from Rajamäki plant seem to have arrived to frontline in first part of December 1939. Other parts of manufacturing process were done in Vuorela hill and in town of Riihimäki. Finnish troops suffered from shortage of better antitank weapons, but thanks to Alko's Riihimäki bottling plant and other parts of production line Finnish troops in least had enough molotov cocktails in their disposal. During Winter War Alko's Rajamäki plant filled 542,194 bottles with molotov cocktail mix.

Also other smaller plants manufactured molotov cocktails, but even their combined production numbers were very small compared to this one large bottling plant. Liquids and mixes used in molotov cocktails during Winter War: Petrol + tar Waste alcohol + kerosene + tar Sulfate-turpentine During production molotov cocktail mix was developed and tested further. The winning mix, which became the standard mix of molotov cocktails manufactured in Alko's Rajamäki bottling plant was: 60 % potassium chlorate 32 % pine tar 8 % noulee According pre-war instructions of Finnish Army the preferred method for using molotov cocktail was throwing it to front armour of the tank and blinding the tank with smoke produced by burning molotov cocktail mix (idea that this improved changes of using satchel charge or mine to destroy tank). But Finnish soldiers soon realised that top of tank's engine was much better target. Tanks that the Soviets commonly used in Winter War had petrol engines and openings upwards from engine room. Molotov cocktail thrown on rear deck of tank spilled its liquid on top of the hot engine through these openings, if the mix was not in fire already then the hot engine set it on fire.

Tank engine rooms being what they were, tanks engine being Soviet "quality" and Soviet tankers maintaining the tanks being who they were, the tanks engine room had grease, petrol, oil, rubber hoses and other materials which molotov cocktail also set on fire. As if loosing engine in fire was not enough, in some Soviet tanks (like T-26 series) air intake system led fire from the engine bay right to area where the crew was located. When this happened the tank crew was forced to take unhappy choice: Either to burn death inside the tank or get out fast and face Finnish infantry waiting for them to pop out. PICTURE: Drawing showing parts of tank, which Finnish soldiers usually targeted with molotov cocktails. The tank in the drawing is T-26 , which was found especially vulnerable to molotov cocktail attack due to its structural design. CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (42 KB). Molotov cocktail proved effective weapon against Soviet tanks in Finnish hands when introduced to use in early December of 1939.

It was not a super-weapon and did not change the course of war, but at least it gave Finnish infantry lacking other antitank-support something to fight against enemy tanks. And in many situations having at least something to hit back with, is what makes the true difference for fighting moral. In reality even during Winter War molotov cocktails were mostly used for demolishing tanks that had already been knocked out with other weapons - once a tank was successfully set on fire with molotov cocktail, repairing it became so difficult that it was usually no longer a practical choice. Using weapon such as molotov cocktails against tanks was both difficult and dangerous. Getting with-in throwing distance from enemy tank demanded Finnish infantry to get very close to enemy tanks, so more cover the terrain offered, easier this sort of weapon was to use. Open terrain and daylight were less favorable conditions for their use. The Soviets also learned some lessons and adjusted their tactics: If their tanks succeeded getting behind Finnish trenches at daytime, they soon learned to return their own lines before nightfall - and attack of Finnish infantry using cover of darkness. Their tanks also started covering each other and tried to avoid going too close Finnish trenches or terrain that offered too many good hiding places for Finnish infantry.

Later on the Soviets even tried increasing changes of molotov cocktail not breaking by adding tree branches or wire mesh on top of their tanks. In this minor arms race the Finnish soldiers responded adding two or three stones connected with strings to bottle of molotov cocktail to make sure that it always shattered on impact and added some barb-wire around the bottle made sure it stuck to mesh. During Winter War the weapon got its famous name "molotov cocktail", however its not certain if the term was Finnish invention or invented by foreign journalists working in Finland during the war. Some sources also suggest that the name may have originated from Professor Alvar Wilska, who took part in further developing of molotov cocktail during Winter War. In either case the person it was named after was no other than Soviet foreign Minister Vjatseslav Molotov, concerning whom the Finns had less than favorable opinion. It is worth noting that after Molotov had publicly claimed during Winter War that Soviet bombers, which were bombing Finnish cities were not dropping bombs but bread to feed hungry population, the Finns named incendiary bomb container that the Soviets were using in their bombing raids as "Molotov's bread basket".

Molotov cocktail remained as part of Finnish antitank weaponry also for Continuation War, but saw much less use as antitank-weapon even early on. New Soviet tanks introduced after Winter War were far less vulnerable to molotov cocktails than their predecessors. Already T-28 medium tanks had proved to be difficult to destroy with molotov cocktails. New Soviet diesel-engine equipped tanks like KV-series and T-34 proved so difficult to destroy with this weapon, that other weapons started completely replacing molotov cocktail in practical use. First satchel charges and occasinally also antitank-mines were used for the purpose, until year 1944 Panzerfaust started replacing them as well. During World War 2 Finnish Army introduced also a training tool version of molotov cocktail, which was size and shape of the 500-milliliter glass bottle used for molotov cocktails. But instead of glass it was made from wood and reinforced with iron bands to survive being repeatedly thrown against hard surface. This training tool version was also partially filled with lead and weight about 900 grams.

Information from successful Finnish use of molotov-cocktails was widely published by international press during Winter War, which probably influenced to some other countries, which also added molotov cocktails to their antitank weaponry. Molotov cocktails developed and/or used by some other countries during World War 2: Britain: Petrol bomb: British 1940 development intended mainly for Home Guard used edged whisky bottle and strap of film or rag tied around the neck of the bottle as method of ignition. Germany: Brandflasche: Glass bottle 25-cm high and 7-cm wide filled with mix of flame-thrower fuel (one third) and gasoline (two thirds). Industrially mass-produced. Brand hand grenade 48/57: Glass container filled with half-a-litre of mix made from benzone and gasoline. Also mass produced. Soviet Union: Soviets officially introduced molotov cocktail in their weaponry in November of 1941. They used multitude of glass bottles (0,5 - 0,75 litre water/beer bottles) with large variety of ignition methods ("storm match" like, glass ampoule, metallic ignition system, self-igniting liquid etc...).

Apparently the most common versions were filled with self-igniting KS-liquid. Sokaisupullo M/44 (Blinding Bottle M/44) Idea of special incendiary bottle designed specifically to create as much as smoke as possible had existed already during developing of molotov cocktail, but at that time there had been no resources available for this development work. Hence this special version of molotov cocktails wasn't introduced until years later during Continuation War. Unlike bottle used in molotov cocktail blinding bottle had its own special bottle shaped specifically to give better grip for throwing. This special bottle also had bottom design similar to ones used in Champaigne bottles and inside bottle in middle of bottom was place for glass ampoule filled with self-igniting (acid-like) material. Factory "Riihimäen Lasi Oy" manufactured the bottles for this purpose. Method used with this weapon was simply to throw the bottle against front hull of enemy tank, after this the black smoke produced by burning liquid would momentarily engulf front of the tank in thick smore make destroying the tank with other weapons much easier, since the tank crew was no longer able to observe what was happening outside.

The blinding bottles were delivered in cardboard carrying boxes, which each contained 3 bottles. Larger transport boxes each contained 5 carrying boxes (in other words: 15 bottles per transport box). The self-igniting ampoules were transported in separate boxes, which each contained 20 ampoules. PICTURE: Perfect hit - blinding bottle m/44 is being tested against KV-1 E model 1940 Ps. 272-1 in Enso, April of 1944. (SA-kuva photo archive, photo number 148991). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (171 KB). Satchel Charge / Antitank Hand Grenade The basic principle of satchel charge was no longer new during World War 2 either. Using packages of explosives against armoured vehicles was just expansion of the previous methods. In its most primitive form satchel charge could be just bundle of explosives (like dynamite) detonated with fuse wire detonator. German Army had used bundles of stick hand grenades as antitank weapons already during World War 1 and the Finns seem to have been familiar with this.

Reportedly Finnish White Army had used bundles of German stick hand grenades for demolition during Finnish Civil War in year 1918 and using these grenade bundles against armoured vehicles appears also in Finnish military training manuals such as Käsigranaatit (Hand grenades) published year in 1925. So, Finnish military was aware of these grenade bundles and their use already before domestic development of satchel charge begun and it seems plausible that grenade-bundle may in fact have served as starting point for satchel charge development. In fact during Winter War there were still few cases in which Finnish troops lacking any other available antitank weapons were still using bundles of stick hand grenades for ad hoc antitank-weapons. Year 1936 Captain Kaarlo Tuurna serving in Engineer Battalion (Pioneeripataljoona) started testing explosive charges against armour. He came to conclusion that 500 grams of TNT (trinitrotoluene) was enough to break 12-mm thick armour plate if pressed against it. The conclusion was that satchel charge with explosive charge corresponding 800 grams of TNT was the smallest practical useful explosive charge size for antitank-grenade to be used against armoured vehicles.

This was closely equal to bundle of six old German M/1916 stick hand grenades: 6 x stick hand grenade M/16 á 125 grams of TNT = 750 grams of TNT In many countries (like Germany) the basic satchel charge did not develop beyond this bundle of "potato smashers" (stick) hand grenades, but in Finland this served merely as the starting point of development which ultimately resulted mass-production of industrially manufactured satchel charges. Finnish infantry used satchel charges both in Winter War and Continuation War in huge numbers. It is worth noting that Finnish military had two separate but equally popular names for this weapon - kasapanos (satchel charge) and hyökkäsvaunukäsikranaatti (anti-tank hand grenade), which was often abbreviated to simply as Hv-käsikranaatti. Both of these names had official status and were used in equal manner, sometimes even in the same individual document.

Finnish satchel charges can be roughly divided to two categories: A) Factory-made satchel charges: Total weight (with fuse): 4.26 kg Length of whole satchel charge: 38.0 cm Size of metal box containing TNT-charge: 10.8 cm x 16.0 cm x 17.0 cm Length of of (stick hand grenade) handle: 21.0 cm PICTURE: Drawing showing parts of tank, which Finnish soldiers preferred to target with satchel charges. Back deck on top of the engine was usual main target, but tank could also immobilised by throwing satchel charge on top or under its track. CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (28 KB). During Winter War Finnish military also observed effects of various satchel charges used in battle. As a result Chief of Engineers reported Finnish General HQ following in February of 1940: 2-kg satchel charge: Effective against armoured vehicles weighting less or around 6 tons (All Soviet armoured cars and amphibious tanks).

3-kg satchel charge: Effective against armoured vehicles weighting less or around 12 tons ( T-26 series and BT-series tanks ) 4-kg satchel charge: Effective against armoured vehicles weighting less or around 30 ton ( T-28 medium tanks ). During early Winter War Finns also tried satchel charges with sheet metal boxes, which had their long sides coated with special glue. The idea of this was to improve the changes of satchel charges to stay on top of armour plate. The glue-coated parts of these charges were protected with pieces of plywood, which were to be removed just before use. However the battle-use soon revealed that this whole idea was far from practical: In battlefield the glue could easily become dirty (after which it did not really stick to anything) or it could get stick to wrong objects (like clothing of the soldier trying to use it). Also using these satchel charges without removing the pieces of plywood apparently reduced effect of their explosion. So, ultimately this idea proved so impractical that it was soon buried and Finnish military returned back using only satchel charges, which had no glue. PICTURE: Inert training version of satchel charge.

Handle section used in this one seem to be from German stick hand grenade Sa/24 (Stielhandgranade 24). The "warhead" has been made from wood, reinforced with metal bands and could be loaded with a banger (small explosive charge designed to only cause loud bang). This sort of inert versions were standard issue items used for training of antitank-personnel. (Photo taken in Sotamuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (78 KB). Another more successful improvement adopted during production were small metal hooks in front parts of sheet metal box. When Soviets had started covering their tanks with tree branches and wire mesh the hooks improved changes for the satchel charge to get stuck in them. At the same time the hooks made carrying of satchel charges easier as satchel charges could now been hung to a belt or leather strap. PICTURE: Four Finnish satchel charges - probably 2 kilogram, 3 kilogram, 4 kilogram and inert training version. Notice the two in the middle (2 kg and 3 kg versions) having the previously mentioned hooks, while the 4 kg version in the back lacks them.

The green painted training version has its "warhead" made from wood and has hole where a banger could be inserted for training use. (Photo taken in Jalkaväkimuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (130 KB). B) "Home-made" satchel charges: These were satchel charges build by soldiers for their own use or use of their own unit. Especially engineer units distinguished themselves in building these when needed. When compared to factory-made ones these varied more in sizes both directions (Typically homemade satchel charges covered all sizes between 1 - 6 kg). The basic explosive used in home-made satchel charges was TNT (trinitrotoluene), which was the most powerful easy-to-use explosive commonly available in large amounts for Finnish military during World War 2. The detonation mechanisms varied from charge to charge, but as hand grenade handle & detonator was suitable it was often used also in home-made satchel chages. If handle & detonator parts of stick hand grenade were not used, then usually wooden handle was made and attached to the charge to throwing it easier.

Early on 1-kg satchel charge was found to be handy weapon for storming trenches and capable of damaging tank track when used skilfully. Large 6-kg satchel charges were effective even against the most heavily armoured Soviet tanks. PICTURE: Crude Finnish "home-made" satchel charge built by tying 4 large bricks of TNT around Finnish stick hand grenade M/32. (Photo taken in Panssarimuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (25 KB). PICTURE: Another slightly more sophisticated sample of Finnish "home-made" satchel charge. Some TNT bundled together around Finnish stick hand grenade M/41 and tied as a package with paper and thin metal wire. (Photo taken in Sotamuseo). CLICK THUMBNAIL TO SEE LARGER PIC (50 KB). Experiences and development: Development of Soviet tanks effected also to Finnish production of satchel charges. When Soviet tank production focused into manufacturing of medium and heavy tanks 2-kg factory-manufactured satchel charge became outdated as antitank-weapon, but still remained useful while fighting the enemy in trenches and as a basic demolition charge.

At the same time 3-kg and 4-kg satchel charges remained useful against tanks. When it comes to largest factory-manufactured satchel charges 5-kg version was apparently popular against bunkers and even if 6-kg satchel charge proved somewhat clumsy, it still remained in production until end of the war. The last version of Finnish industrially manufactured satchel charge was a completely design planned with intent of replacing various versions of satchel charge with one satchel charge design on which the size of explosive charge was adjustable. This new satchel charge design was did not appear until late 1944. Handle section of stick hand grenade was still used in the design and explosives were packed into containers made from sheet metal. But now its warhead contained series of metal containers each had screw section in middle of them. In addition each warhead section had its own separate detonator (containing tetryl and compressed TNT) that the stick hand grenade handle section would detonate. Each section of warhead contained 1.5 kilograms of TNT.

The design allowed frontline soldiers to easily assemble a satchel charge of required size from these components by attaching stick hand grenade handle section to suitable number of warhead sections. The resulting practically possible options were 1.5-kg, 3-kg, 4.5-kg and 6-kg satchel charges. Documents suggest that this design was introduced so late that it never entered mass production, with probably only 50 prototypes being ever manufactured. Even if the satchel charges were industrially manufactured Finnish troops were still improvising "home-made" versions when needed. One sample of this were 2.4-kg, 3.2-kg and 4.8-kg satchel charges built by troops of Armour Division from captured 400-gram Soviet TNT bricks in year 1944. In this case the explosives were packaged with plywood, iron clamps and tar paper. SOURCES: Eero-Eetu Saarinen: Pioneerijoukkojen historia 1918 - 1968. Military manual: Käsikranaatit ja kiväärikranaatit. Printed in 1926. Military manual: P.

Huhtala: Jalkaväen ryhmänjohtaja, Opas nuorelle upseerille. Printed in 1932. Military Manual: Upseerien ja aliupseerien kertaus- ja jatko-opiskelukirja. Printed in 1942. Military manual: Jalkaväen Ampumatarvikkeet II by Puolustusvoimien Pääesikunta Taisteluvälineosasto. Military manual: Sokaisupullo/44 (Kss. 1041) (printed 1944) Military manual: Väliaikainen pst.yksiköitten harjoitustekninen koulutusopas. (printed 1940) Heinz Guderian: Achtung - Panzer! Anthony Beevor: The Spanish Civil War Article of Keijo Heinonen: Kuka keksi "Molotovin cocktailin?" (Who invented the Molotov Cocktail?) in Asehistoriallinen aikakauskirja 24 (Journal of Military History 24).

Article: Molotovin Cocktail eli polttopullo by Esko O. Toivanen in Ase-lehti magazine vol 4/96. Article: Köyhän miehen pst-ase, Molotovin cocktail by Robert Brandtberg in Ase-lehti magazine 2/2010. Article: Sokaisupullo m/44, jatkosodan sotalasia by Esko O. Toivanen in Ase-lehti magazine vol 3/98. Article: Panssarintorjunta-aseet by Lauri Harvila in Kansa Taisteli magazine vol 10/1976. Finnish National Archives (Sörnäinen), archive folder T19052. Finnish National Archives (Sörnäinen), archive folder T23392. Special thanks to Panssarimuseo (Finnish Armour Museum), Parola. Special thanks to Sotamuseo (Finnish Military Museum), Helsinki. Special thanks to Jalkaväkimuseo (Finnish Infantry Museum), Mikkeli.

Last updated 14th of August 2016 Webmaster: JTV jtvalias@hotmail.com Copyrights (pictures, text and graphics): Jaeger Platoon Website. 10 strange historical facts about Finland | History Extra Directory 10 strange historical facts about Finland The modern nation of Finland is the heir to many centuries of history: it was a wilderness at the edge of early Europe, a powerful component of the late medieval Swedish empire, and a Grand Duchy of Tsarist Russia. Finnish history is also rich with oddities – here, Jonathan Clements, the author of An Armchair Traveller's History of Finland, reveals 10 of the most surprising… Tuesday 14th October 2014 BBC History Magazine - 5 issues for £5 1) One of the Viking sagas is about a feisty Finnish princess who strangled a king with a golden chain The Heimskringla [the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas, written c1230] includes the story of Skjalv, daughter of the Finnish King Froste. After defeating her father, King Agne dragged Skjalv back to Sweden to serve as a concubine.

Skjalv, however, waited until the drunken Ingemar was asleep, and then strangled him with his golden chain, Jabba the Hutt-style. His corpse was found hoisted into a tree. 2) Finns pay with squirrel skins From the 5th century AD onwards, trading connections started developing between Finns and other European groups. During the Roman Empire, for example, traders brought goods from all corners of Europe – wine glasses and gold bracelets from Italy, and luxury weapons from France and Germany. Early Scandinavian and German traders in Finland sold goods, tools and weapons for the country’s most precious resource – soft animal furs. Raha, the word for pelt in Finnish, came to mean money, and Finnish slang can still refer to cash as ‘oravannahka’, meaning squirrel skins. 3) Finland has its own Adam & Eve story The Black Death, which hit Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killed a third of the Finnish population, and hit the town of Espoo particularly hard. According to an eerie folktale, only a girl and a monk survived.

When the monk died, the girl climbed the church tower and tolled its bell in his memory, signalling her presence to the only other survivor in the vicinity: her future husband. Together, they repopulated Espoo, although hopefully with a few more additions to the gene pool. 4) A Japanese spy once tried to start a revolution with an old steamer packed with guns, explosives and hundreds of gallons of wine During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), Motojiro Akashi, the Japanese military attaché in Stockholm, was ordered by his government to distract the Tsar with a Finnish revolution. Consequently, Akashi acquired the John Grafton, an ageing steamship, in the name of a British wine merchant. He stocked the boat with 15,000 rifles, 2.5 million bullets, some 2,500 revolvers, and three tonnes of explosives. Owing to a misunderstanding, the boat also came with hundreds of gallons of wine.

The mission was a catastrophic failure, mainly because the crew got drunk and the lead rebel, Konni Zilliacus, unwisely tried to quit smoking during the voyage – he was nearly caught trying to break into a cigarette shop in Copenhagen. They made it to the coast of Finland, but had to blow the ship up when the Russian navy arrived. 5) The Finns invented the Molotov cocktail At the onset of the Second World War, Stalin demanded to use Finnish territory for strategic purposes – he ordered that the Hanko Peninsula would serve as port for the Soviet Navy. The Finns refused, however, and Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister, declared that it was ‘time for the soldiers’ to do the talking. Some 65 men, women and children died in the first bombing raid on Helsinki, while Molotov snidely remarked that Soviet aircraft were only dropping ‘food parcels’. Later in the war, Finnish troops returned the insult by hurling ‘Molotov cocktails’ at Soviet tanks. 6) 10 per cent of Finland is missing Soviet soldiers invaded Finland during the Second World War.

The Nordic country later struck back with a controversial ‘co-belligerency pact’ with Nazi Germany, in which the nations were not allies, but agreed to be fighting the same foe. The Finns fought the Soviet Union to a standstill on the border, but had to cede 10 per cent of their eastern territory, including the second largest city, Vyborg. Post-war Finland had to cope with the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the lost lands. Finnish remained an official language of the Republic of Karelia (the Russian state that includes much of the lost land) until the 1980s, and there are still occasional attempts to get it reinstated. 7) A Finnish doctor helped inspire Lord of the Rings Bored with small-town life in remote Kajaani in the 1800s, the Finnish doctor Elias Lönnrot made several trips into the wilds of Karelia to collect folktales from local storytellers. He then attempted to reconstruct the myths that Finland might have had before the coming of Christianity.

The resulting book, the national myth of The Kalevala, kicked off a revolution in Finnish arts and crafts, and informs much of the imagery of late 19th-century Finnish culture. It inspired JRR Tolkien to write a similar ‘national myth’ for the English. In the process, he based Quenya, the language of High Elvish, on Finnish. 8) Finland had its own version of prohibition Finnish women were the first in Europe to get the vote, and one of their initial acts was to pass temperance laws keeping booze away from their menfolk. The result was Kieltolaki (prohibition), a ban on alcohol that was in force from 1919 to 1932. As in the USA, the new laws resulted in an entire subculture of bootleggers, ‘fortified’ teas and speakeasies, and an estimated 85 per cent of crime derived in some way from resistance to the booze law. But it wasn’t all bad – light beer at two per cent alcohol or less apparently didn’t count as beer at all.

9) Finnish industry was started by a Scotsman The Quaker investor James Finlayson immediately realised the potential of the Tammerfors rapids for generating water power in the 1820s. His name became synonymous with the six-storey factory he built at the water’s edge – the first in Finland to have electric light, and still a brand name for Finnish textiles, including today’s popular Moomin towels and Angry Birds duvets. The Finlayson factory led to the city of Tampere’s rather odd nickname, ‘the Manchester of Finland’. Finns followed suit, and a factory on nearby rapids started as a sawmill, but eventually diversified into rubber and telecommunications. It took its name from the nearest town, Nokia. 10) Finland’s Patron Saint is English Saint Henry of Finland was said to be an English bishop who arrived with Swedish crusaders in the 12th century. He got into a fight on a frozen lake with a forester called Lalli, who smashed his skull in with an axe. His bones were later wrapped in white cloth, tied with blue string, and laid to rest in a church in south-west Finland.

There is no proof that Henry or Lalli ever existed, but Lalli is regarded by many as the ‘first Finn’, and his stubborn resistance to change considered a part of the national character. To find out more about An Armchair Traveller's History of Finland, by Jonathan Clements (Haus Publishing, October 2014), click here . To read the latest issue of BBC History Magazine on your tablet or mobile, click here . Alternatively, why not subscribe to the print edition?

Question: Which nation invented the Molotov Cocktail
Answer: Finland